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Leslie Cramer

Wine Examiner
Leslie Cramer has worked in the fine wine industry for twenty- something years. Known in some circles as "The Wine Wizardess," she'll cover topics from wine education, to trends o' the day and how to properly propose a toast, to health benefits of the grape.

Hispanic Heritage Month: celebrating Spanish wines and Sancocho
W.W. Wednesday: Wine, women, and health
Breast Cancer Awareness Month: wine and breast cancer
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    Ordering house wine--blindly--and the risks involved

    July 7, 12:47 PM
    by Leslie Cramer, Wine Examiner
     
     

    A wide array of house wines and the proper glassware for each.
    I do it.  And I'm aware of the risks involved (though I always ask what it is before I take the plunge and I can still be discretionary).  Odering house wine has become borderline chic due to restaurateurs stepping up and finding house pours that are well thought through, from first-class wineries.

     

    The evolution of house wine has gone from over priced by-the-glass lists to wines of substance due to overall higher quality of today's wine production.  Price isn't the pervasive issue  anymore, the grade of what is being cranked out is.

     

    Top restaurateurs aren't fans of the term "house wine" but lean more towards wines that work well with the courses they are serving, wines that work with their particular cuisines (a beefy cabernet with a filet mignon, for instance). 

     

    To change with the seasons is another approach to the house wine conundrum.  The food menu changes according to the season, the wine list should follow suit and accomodate.  (Rather self-explanatory, summer's lighter fare with lighter seasonal summer-type wines, and vice versa.) 

     

    With more top-notch wines climbing their way towards house pours, the consequent higher prices are bound to follow.  Even still, they'll still seem like relative good deals compared with the wines on the "main" list.  Ask your server what their house pour may be, waitstaff these days are generally well versed on wine, its the restaurant's goal to provide the best food/wine match-up possible.

     

    For more info:  Check out different restaurants in your area, sample different fares, and ask your servers for house-pour wine suggestions.
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